1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cartridge magazines for use with firearms, and more particularly, to an improved way of coupling several magazines together.
2. Background Information
Conventional cartridge magazines include an enclosed housing having an open mouth, for bullet entry and exit at one end thereof, sometimes referred to as a discharge assembly, a follower moveable within the housing and a biasing structure for biasing the follower toward the mouth. Thus, as cartridges lie in contact with the follower, they are continuously biased toward the mouth.
Magazines of this type are generally known in the art. One such magazine is described in Hausmann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,954, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present specification. This magazine includes an upper end receiver and discharge assembly, a housing in which a follower is positioned for sliding movement. The follower guides cartridges as they are inserted into the magazine and provides suitable force against the cartridges loaded in the magazine to assist in cartridge discharge into the breech of a weapon.
A number of approaches have been suggested for connecting several magazines together. One example is incorporated in the Hausmann style magazine. On one side wall there exists a cylindrical hole and a protruding cylindrical stud so that two magazines can be joined together by inverting one magazine relative to the other, thereby aligning each of the studs over a respective hole. By then pushing each of the studs into a respective and aligned hole, the magazines will be held together in their respectively inverted positions. In that configuration one mouth will face downwardly, the other upwardly.
Another example is shown in Owsley, U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,067, where two box type metal magazines are formed into a unitary structure by spot-welding the rear walls of two magazines at several spaced locations.
Ardolino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,332, which also relates to metal box type magazines, shows another approach in which two magazines are connected in an end-to-end fashion. Each magazine includes a sliding lock plate adjacent one side of each end and a ball-type stud adjacent the other side of each end. By rotating one of the magazines 180degrees each ball-type stud can be received in an opening in each lock plate designed to capture and hold the ball-type stud located on another magazine.
Both the Owsley and Ardolino structures resulting turned 180 degrees during use when changing from one magazine to another. Schwaller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,403, suggested connecting several magazines in a side-by-side orientation so that each was directed in the same direction. This was accomplished by including on one side wall two spaced apart female coupling parts and two spaced male coupling parts on the opposite side wall. Each female part included a slot with the bottom one being rotated 90 degrees from the top one. Each male part included a headed pin that could be slid into the appropriate slot. However, the mouth of each magazine was very close to the other making use difficult.
Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,976 suggested mounting several small magazines on the exterior surfaces of a separate mounting base member so that each magazine would face outwardly for use. The mounting base would provide the ability to mount two or four magazines.
Shiplee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,256, coupled several magazines together by use of a separate holder into which standard box-type magazines would be received.
None of these prior art devices, however, provide a magazine structure that permits a variety of coupled orientations directly with other like magazines, nor do they provide a truly compact multiple magazine configuration.